Simulating the Effect of Social Network Structure on Workflow Efficiency Performance

Copyright © 2014 Akhilesh Bajaj, Sandip Sen. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In accordance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights © 2014 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intellectual property Akhilesh Bajaj, Sandip Sen. All Copyright © 2014 are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian. The effect of social network structure on team performance is difficult to investigate using standard field obser-vational studies. This is because social network structure is an endogeneous variable, in that prior team perfor-mance can influence the values of structural measures such as centrality and connectedness. In this work we propose a novel simulation model based on agent-based modeling that allows social network structure to be treated as an exogeneous variable but still be allowed to evolve over time. The simulation model consists of expe-riments with multiple runs in each experiment. The social network amongst the agents is allowed to evolve be-tween runs based on past performance. However, within each run, the social network is treated as an exogenous variable where it directly affects workflow performance. The simulation model we describe has several inputs and parameters that increase its validity, including a realistic workflow management depiction and real-world cognitive strategies by the agents